What Hurts The Most
by IcyJadeXOXO
Summary: Elena asks Alaric to compel her to forget about ever loving Damon. What happens when Damon returns to find out that his one great love has no memory of him?
1. Somebody That I Used To Know

**TITLE : **What Hurts The Most

**DISCLAIMER** : I don't own TVD, unless you count DVD's or my excessive Damon Salvatore poster collection. No, I didn't think so. Also, I don't own any of the recognizable characters. Sadly, the show belongs to L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Caroline Dries, et al.,and CW Network.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** : I hate spoilers. I just HATE them. But I keep reading them, so what does that say about me? Anyways, this fic is based partly on what I've read on the internet, which may or may not be true. That being said, this may or may not be a One-Shot.

**SUMMARY** : Elena asks Ric to compel her to forget about ever loving Damon. What happens when Damon returns to find out that his one great love has no memory of him?

**PAIRING(S)** : No definite pairing as of yet, but you know how much I love Damon/Elena.

**RATING** : T for the time being. Not really sure where this is going, so the rating may or may not change.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER ONE – Somebody That I Used To Know<strong>

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><p>"What the hell do you mean Elena doesn't remember me?" Damon growled at his best friend, Alaric...the 'best' part of their friendship being questioned at the moment.<p>

They were at Whitmore College, inside Ric's classroom, where Damon went to reunite with the woman he loved, only to have a rather huge bombshell dropped on him. Enzo, the one responsible for Damon's return, sat in the middle seat of the front row, with an insipid smirk on his face, while he watched the heated exchange.

"Damon, we all thought that you were dead," Ric began to explain, still struggling with the fact that Damon has, indeed, returned from the dead, and that his best friend really is standing right in front of him. "Elena was having a really bad time coping with the loss of you. So, she asked me to compel her to forget about ever falling in love with you...that way, she wouldn't hurt anymore."

"No...NO!" Damon shook his head vigorously. "Elena would never do that, Ric. She loves me!"

"Yes, she did. And that was the problem, Damon," Ric said with a sigh. "It was crippling her. She couldn't function without you. The thought of living an eternity without you almost drove her insane."

"So, you compelled her to forget that she ever felt anything for me?" Damon had a hard time understanding why Ric would do such a thing.

"Yes...no...not exactly," Ric stammered. He rubbed his hand all over his scruffy face in frustration. "Look...it's not like someone gave me a manual for any of this. I'm not an expert on vampire compulsion, especially with other vampires." Ric stared at Damon, who had a mix of hurt and betrayal plastered all over his face. "Elena wanted me make her forget that she was ever in love with you. For me to do that, I had to know the exact time when she fell for you. Unfortunately, even she couldn't tell me that. Look, I had not other choice, buddy. In order for me to help her...I had to remove any memories of you." Ric raised his hand to pat Damon on the shoulder, in attempts to comfort the broken-hearted vampire.

Damon swatted his hand away. "So...you wiped me out completely from her brain?"

"Yes...I didn't-" Ric tried to make him understand. He turned to Enzo for some assistance. "A little help here?"

Enzo shook his head and raised his hand to wave him off. "Two is a fight...three is a brawl."

"Give it back," Damon demanded.

"What?" Ric asked confusedly.

"Give her memories of me back to her," Damon repeated, making sure that he spoke slowly enough and enunciating every word to make sure that Ric understood. "You can do it. You're like an Original vampire, Ric. You can do that. Do it...for me."

"I don't know how, Damon...I wouldn't even know where to start," Ric confessed to his best friend.

Damon was about to say something, when he heard her voice. She was giggling...she was actually giggling, like a happy little school girl. Enzo perked up from his seat, suddenly gaining interest in the scene that unfolded before him. Things were about to get a little more exciting.

"Stop it! Stop that, Liam! It tickles!" Elena playfully swatted a young man's hand away.

"All the more reason why I should keep going," replied the young man, who Damon guessed was named Liam.

"Quit it!" Elena chuckled, as she lightly slapped Liam's hand away once again.

Elena mischievously ran away from Liam, who impishly chased after her. Elena was laughing, as she tried to dodge Liam's fingers, not knowing that they were being watched. It was when Ric finally cleared his throat that they looked around, and saw three sets of eyes staring at them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ric," Elena apologized. "I didn't know you had company." She then turned to nod at Enzo. "Didn't know you were back in town, Enzo. What brings you back?" she asked, before tilting her head at Damon. "And who's your friend?"

"Wait...you remember him?" Damon asked, looking back and forth at Elena and Enzo. He gave Ric a confused expression.

"Yeah, he's an ass but he is...was... a friend," Elena answered. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name," she stared at Damon, having no recollection of who he was.

"I never threw it at you," Damon replied curtly, all the expression leaving his face, until it was almost blank.

"Excuse me?" Elena asked incredulously.

"Never mind. I'm nobody. At least, nobody you'd want to know," Damon replied, as he turned to leave.

"Hold on!" Ric shouted. "Nobody move! Everyone...just stay right where you are!" Ric turned to Liam. "Except for you," he said. "Leave!"

"Ric!" Elena protested, as she watched Liam leave the classroom.

"There's something we need to discuss Elena," Ric turned to the young vampire. He raised his hand and place them on her shoulders. "Look at me," he ordered her. "I need you to remember, Elena. I need you to remember everything that I made you forget."

Elena merely stared at Ric, the look of confusion written all over her face. "Ric...I don't understand what you're saying. What did you make me forget?"

"Not 'what'...WHO," Enzo chimed in, which only confused Elena even more.

"Elena...please! I need you to-" Ric implored her, before Damon interrupted.

"Forget it, Ric," Damon told his friend. "It's no use. It's quite clear that she has no intention of remembering," he added, his voice faltering. He turned to face Enzo. "Let's go."

"But things were just getting interesting," Enzo protested.

Damon just glared at him. "I said, let's go!" he growled angrily, before heading towards the door, immediately followed by Enzo.

Ric stared at Elena, shaking his head in frustration. Everything was completely wrong, and he blamed himself for it. How could he have done that to the man he called his best friend, and to the young woman he regarded as his own daughter? He then turned to the door and ran after his best friend, leaving Elena alone and confused.

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><p>"Damon, wait! You're leaving? Just like that?" Ric asked disbelievingly.<p>

"This was her choice, Ric," Damon reminded him, continuing to walk at a faster, yet still human, pace.

"Yes, but you're here now..." Ric pointed out.

"She seems happy," Damon said. "With that Liam guy," he scoffed.

"But he's not you," Ric replied.

"Who cares?" Damon snapped. "Clearly, ELENA doesn't! She doesn't even remember me! No memories, Ric. Not the bad times. Not the good times. No memories of me at all!"

"I'll fix this..." Ric ran his hand through his hair.

"How?" Damon retorted, as he kept on walking...with Enzo walking beside him.

"I-I..." Ric stammered.

"You have no idea," Damon answered for him. "You said so yourself, you don't even know if you can."

"I'm so sorry, Damon..." Ric sighed as he apologized.

"It's fine, Ric. Like I said, I think I'll go now," Damon told him.

"I'll see you tomorrow-" Ric said, before he was cut abruptly.

"No...you won't," Damon shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Ric asked, lightly grabbing Damon's arm to stop him.

"It means that I'm leaving," Damon replied, as he shook Ric's hand off. "And you'll never see me again."

"Damon...think bout this, buddy- Ric tried to reason with him.

"I have...I've made up my mind, BUDDY," Damon retorted, throwing that last word mockingly at his friend. "And so...this is goodbye," he said, before vamp-speeding his way out to the parking lot.

Ric glared at Enzo. "You know, you could've said something," he growled angrily.

Enzo just gave him a smug smile. "Sorry, mate. It's not my fight," he gave Ric a mock salute, before he followed Damon in a flash.

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><p>Damon sat silently inside the car, while Enzo drove. He wasn't moving. He wasn't talking. He was just staring off into blank space. Unable to stand the uneasy silence, Enzo was the first one to speak.<p>

"Did you really mean that?" Enzo asked his friend and former cellmate.

"What?" Damon finally acknowledged him.

"That you're leaving for good?" Enzo repeated.

"I'm here...with you...inside your car...as you drive away. You don't hear me complaining," Damon pointed out. "What does that tell you?"

"We can always turn back..." Enzo suggested, offering him an out.

"You can turn back if you want," Damon scoffed. "I'll just have to find another means to get the hell out of Dodge."

"We're really leaving?" Enzo asked again.

"We really are leaving," Damon reiterated. "I think it's time that I sever ties with these people. And this hellhole of a place."

"And Elena?" Enzo pressed.

"Weren't you paying attention?" Damon snarled at his friend. "She doesn't want to remember me! I wasn't even gone half a year, and she'd rather forget about me than find a way to bring me back!"

"The Other Side collapsed. We thought that you were gone. We all believed that there was no other way to bring you back," Enzo tried to reason with him.

"Obviously, not all. YOU found a way to bring me back," Damon pointed out.

"Yes...but I have my own selfish reasons," Enzo reminded him.

"And Elena didn't? Love wasn't a good enough reason?" Damon spat in anger.

"I can't answer for her, mate," Enzo replied calmly.

"Doesn't matter now, does it? She can't remember me. And she won't remember me. I am so sick and tired of having to fight for my love for her, when it's quite clear that the Universe doesn't wan't us to be together! Guess what, Universe? You win! I give up! I am so fucking done with all of your bullshit! So let's just drop it, okay?" Damon scoffed, as he turned his attention back to that blank space he was staring at earlier.

"So...where to?" Enzo asked softly.

"Keep driving," Damon ordered him. "We still have a Bennett witch to find."

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><p>Elena's eyes snapped open, as she panicked when she awoke to an unfamiliar pair of hands that was wrapped around her waist. She was confused. She was still in her dorm room, in her bed, but she had no idea who the man was that slept beside her.<p>

She held her breath and looked at herself to check. _Still fully clothed._ She exhaled thankfully. She extricated herself from the man's arms. The man beside her stirred and tried to pull her closer. She slapped the man's hands away and jumped out of bed, which finally woke him up.

"Who the hell are you?" Elena screamed at the guy.

"Elena-" the guy stared at her confusedly, as he tried to reach for her again.

"Get away from me!" Elena slapped his hands away again.

"Elena, sweetheart-" he tried to calm her down.

"Don't call me that!" Elena's anger only grew. She rushed towards the guy, slamming him into the wall, her hands wrapped around his throat. "Who the hell are you? And what the fuck are you doing in my room?" she snarled as she pressed him for answers.

The door swung open, with Alaric rushing inside, quickly followed by Caroline. "Whoa, whoa...easy there!" Ric tried to calm her down, urging her to release the man.

"Ric!" Elena sighed in relief, as she hugged him . "I don't know what's going on..."

Caroline stared at Elena, then to the semi-conscious man slumped on the floor. "Oh,my God! Elena, what did you think you were doing?" she shouted. "Liam, are you okay?"

"Care, you know this guy?" Elena asked, surprised and even more confused.

"Of course I do." Caroline scoffed. "He's your boyfriend!"

"What do you mean , my boyfriend? I know you want me to forget about Damon, but this is low, even for you?" Elena accused her blonde vampire friend. "You know that I'm not even done grieving for him, and you want me to move on?"

"Elena...I didn't want you to forget about Damon," Caroline tried to remain calm as she explained. "YOU were the one who forgot about him."

"Can somebody tell me what the fuck is going on?" Liam finally found his voice, and spoke up, the shock still visible on his expression.

It was then that Ric decided to intervene. "Hey, kid...look at me. You need to go back to your place-"

"No, I want answers-" Liam tried to argue.

Ric grabbed Liam by the back of the neck, and made him stare into his eyes. "You're gonna go back to your place. You're gonna forget all about this. You met a girl. Turned out she was a crazy chick. You broke it off. And you're going to move on."

Liam's eyes glazed over. "I'm gonna go back to my place. I'm gonna forget all about this. I met a girl. Turned out she was a crazy chick. I broke it off. And I'm going to move on," he repeated what Ric had said.

"Good," Ric said, satisfied about the compulsion. "Now get the hell out of here."

"I can't believe that you'd want me to replace Damon already," Elena glared at Caroline, with a pained look on her face and tears welling up in her eyes. "He just died a few months ago, for Christ sake!" she reminded them.

"Several, actually..." Caroline told her.

"What?" Elena shook her head, dumbfounded.

Caroline sighed. She took Elena's hand and steered her to sit down back on the bed. "Damon died almost a year ago, Elena," she softly told her.

"I don't understand," Elena said, as she met Ric's eyes, asking for answers.

Ric exhaled loudly. He turned to Caroline, and tilted his head towards the door, signalling for her to leave. "I got this. Go check on Liam," he told the blonde. After Caroline reluctantly left, he sat beside Elena and pulled closer. "You asked me...no, you BEGGED me to do it, Elena. You wanted me to make you forget about Damon," he explained.

"No..." Elena argued, pushing him away.

Ric shushed her and pulled her back into his arms. "You were suffering. You couldn't handle losing him. So you asked me to to compel you you to forget-"

"NO!" Elena screamed louder. "I wouldn't ask you to do that! I loved Damon...I STILL do. I would never ask you to compel me to forget about him just because he's dead!"

"Was. He WAS dead," Ric said to her.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, her brain starting to hurt as the revelations kept on coming.

"He's back, Elena," Ric revealed to her. "He's been back. Enzo found a way to bring him back from the dead."

Elena stared at him at first, unsure whether she had heard him correctly. When the information finally sunk in, she spoke again. "Where is he? Oh my God! Where's Damon? He came back to me. Just like he promised he would. Tell me where he is! I have to see him!" she demanded.

"I don't know where he went," Ric said apologetically.

"What do you mean?" Elena yelled, panic starting to rise again. "You just told me that he was back..."

"Elena, he WAS back...but that was several weeks...almost three months ago. He's gone again," Ric reluctantly informed her.

Elena shook her head. "What do you mean he's gone? You just said-"

"I know what I said," Ric rubbed his hands all over his face in frustration. "He came back for you. And when he found out that you've forgotten all about him...that it was your choice to forget..."

"And he couldn't stand to be anywhere near me," Elena finished for him. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out on her. Defeatedly, she just slumped on the floor. "He must think that I never really loved him," she whispered.

"That's not true," Ric said, as he pulled into his arms again.

"You don't know him the way I do. God...he must think that I never loved him enough! To just want to forget about him like that!" Elena said, her eyes welling up again. She angrily wiped the tears away, then abruptly stood up. She rushed into her closet, took out a travel bag, and then began stuffing it with clothes.

"What are you doing?" Ric asked her.

"Packing. I'm leaving as soon as possible," Elena replied without stopping.

"Wait...where are you going?" Ric put a hand to her arm to slow her down.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to find him!" Elena snapped.

"How?" Ric asked again.

"I don't know!" Elena hissed. "I don't know where...I don't know how! All I know is that I have to find him. I need him to know how much I love him. I need to be with Damon, Ric."

"I know...I know," Ric nodded in understanding.

"And once I find him...I'll make sure that we'll never be apart ever again." Elena said with great determination.

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><p><strong>~END OF CHAPTER ONE~<strong>

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><p><strong>AN** :

*There you go. The plot bunnies spat this back at me after I read those damn spoilers. Little tip...never, ever read or believe in spoilers, unless you wanna turn like me.

*Any comments, theories, or violent reactions, hit me up by clicking the REVIEW button.


	2. Go Your Own Way

**A/N** : Blame it on the spoilers. Blame it on the plot bunnies. Blame it on insomnia. Blame it on my wild imagination. Blame it on my inability to focus when I'm supposed to be writing new chapters for my other stories. Grrrr! Argh!

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><p><strong>CHAPTER TWO – Go Your Own Way<strong>

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><p>"Are you sure about this?" Alaric asked Elena, as they stepped inside The Red Room, his vampire eyes readjusting to the flashing lights inside the club.<p>

"Yep," Elena nodded, as she let her eyes roam around the place.

"This doesn't make sense," Alaric shook his head. "What the hell would Damon be doing in a night club in the middle of Vancouver?"

"I have no idea," Elena shrugged. "I just know that this is the place that Liv said popped up on the map when she did a locator spell on Damon," she told him.

"And do we trust Liv?" Ric raised an eyebrow.

"She has no reason to lie to me," Elena replied.

"She has no reason to tell you the truth either," Ric pointed out.

Elena sighed. "She's felt guilty ever since she couldn't bring Damon and Bonnie back. I think this is her way of making up for it."

Together, they let their eyes roam in search for Damon. Ric still wasn't sure why Damon was in that particular place. He looked around, and gasped in shock once he realized where they were. On every dark corner of the club, you can see vampires, like them, feeding from the humans, who were moaning in pleasure.

Ric tapped Elena on the shoulder to get her attention. "I think I know why Damon's here..." he said pointing at the vampires all around them.

Elena tried to hide her shock once she saw what Ric was pointing at. "I'm afraid to ask."

"This is a fetish club," Ric informed her. "These people get off from being fed on by vampires."

"So...they come in here willingly to be...vampire snacks?" Elena asked.

"Uh-huh...I've seen this type of club before, when I was looking for Isobel's 'killer'," Alaric explained.

"You don't have to continue that..." Elena told him. She forgot whatever else she was going to say once she saw someone familiar. She trained her eye to focus on the raven-haired man at the far end of the room. She wasn't sure at first, but once she saw those blue eyes open, she knew for sure that it was him.

Elena frantically pulled on Ric's arm. "Ric...it's him! Over there...that's Damon!" she told him, before she ran towards his direction.

"Elena, wait!" Ric said, as he tried and failed to stop her. All he could do was run after her.

Elena stopped when she was a few feet away from him, with Ric right behind her. She just stood there, frozen in her spot, as she stared at Damon, while he fed from a petite young woman dark brown hair. He was making slurping noises while he drank from her, the woman loudly moaning with pleasure as it happened. Finally, she gathered enough courage, Elena tapped Damon on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Damon?" Elena whispered.

Damon swatted her hand away, before turning to face her. "Sorry, Sweetness...you're cute and all that, but you still gotta wait your turn, just like everyone else," Damon said, with blood staining his face. He looked like he was high.

Elena saw the look in his eyes. He was mad. There was annoyance...frustration...hunger...lust...anger...but what she didn't see was recognition. He didn't look like he knew her, not even a glint.

"Damon..." she called him again.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out, or else I'll make you buy me a new one," Damon smirked, before turning back to his meal.

"Damon, please..." Elena begged.

"What the hell do you want?" Damon snarled at her. He waved his hands around. "Look around you, Sunshine! Plenty of willing human victims for you to feed on. So why don't you lay off and snack on someone else! Go away, and leave me to dine in peace." Damon went back to feeding on his victim.

Whether he cared or not, Damon didn't stop when the woman's heart was slowed down. He was going to kill the girl if he didn't stop drinking from her soon. It was then that Alaric decided to intervene.

"Easy there..." Ric warned him, placing a hand on his arm.

"I'm still hungry," Damon insisted, swatting his hand away.

"Like you said, plenty of willing victims in here," Ric pointed out. "Find another one. Let this one go. She's done for the night."

"Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do?" Damon growled at him.

"Whoa...I'm not here to fight you, buddy," Ric raised his hands in surrender.

"I ain't your partner. I ain't your brother. I ain't your pal. I ain't your friend. I ain't your buddy. The sooner we got that straightened out, the better," Damon told Ric. He then turned to Elena and pushed the semi-conscious woman to wards her. "You can have her. I think I'll move on to the 'Blonde' course of my meal." he wiggled his eyebrows, before turning away from them.

"We need to talk," Elena called after him.

"Too damn bad!" Damon replied. "I have no idea who you people are," he said, looking at both of them. He then turned his attention to the man not far away from them. "Enzo...I'll be at the bar," he nodded, before walking away.

Enzo gave Ric and Elena an annoying wave. "If it's not too obvious yet, he has no recollection of any of you."

"Enzo...I should have known you won't be far away," Ric scoffed.

"Enzo, what happened to Damon?" Elena asked.

Enzo chuckled as he took a swig from his drink. "After we left Virginia, Damon was hell-bent on forgetting about you...the same way you wanted to forget about him. And you know him, once he sets his mind to it, he can do anything."

"What have you done to him?" Ric asked suspiciously.

"I didn't do anything, Professor," Enzo replied with a smirk. He turned to Elena, and then back to Ric. "Like I said, he has no recollection of any of you. And without knowing you, or Elena...especially Elena...he's free to do whatever the bloody hell he wants to. Do as he pleases, without you nagging voice inside his head, telling him that what he's doing is wrong. Do you have any idea how liberating that is?"

Elena shook her head n confusion. "I don't get it...you said that he'd forgotten about us. How?"

Enzo's smirk grew wider. "We found a witch powerful enough to...how did he say it...hack into his brain and remove certain parts of his memories that he didn't want anymore. What did he say it was like...oh yes! It's like deleting unnecessary files inside your brain," he informed her. "Well, gorgeous...consider yourself deleted."

"He had me deleted...from his head?" Elena asked incredulously.

"Yes," Enzo replied. "It was quite genius, actually. Left him in a coma for a few days, but the spell worked like a charm. From the looks of things, it seems like you remember him again?" he inquired curiously.

"Yes," Elena muttered softly.

"How?" Enzo pressed.

It was Alaric who answered. "It turned out that my compulsion for her to remember everything again had worked. Only...it took a little bit of time before it took effect."

"A few months is quite a long time," Enzo pointed out the obvious.

"Yes, I'm very well aware of that," Ric retorted.

Enzo shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't know what to tell you. You're too late," he informed them.

"It can't be..." Elena said with pent up frustration.

"Oh, but it is," Enzo insisted.

"Where's this witch that performed the spell for Damon?" Elena demanded to know. "Maybe she can reverse it?"

"Don't know. Don't care," Enzo told her, as he started to laugh.

"Why are you laughing?" Elena asked him. She would have attacked him, if it weren't for Ric holding her back.

"Oh, nothing," Enzo chuckled. "I was just reminded of what Damon said a while back. He told me that the Universe loves to point and laugh at any of his attempts to be happy. As it turns out, he was right. I mean, he comes back from the dead, the woman he loves has no memory of him. Now that your memory has returned, he had you deleted from his brain. It's really quite funny when you think about it."

"No, it's really not funny...not at all...not to me." Elena said to him.

"Maybe my sense of humor is a tad different from yours." Enzo shrugged again. "In any case, you should go back home," he suggested, turning his attention back to Alaric. "Maybe this big lug can compel you to forget Damon again. It's better that way...because you're never getting him back," he said with smug arrogance, before he started to walk away.

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><p>Once he was sure that he wasn't being watched, Enzo took his phone and texted Damon.<p>

_Time to go._

His phone buzzed not a minute later with Damon's reply.

_It's like you read my mind._

He typed another message to Damon.

_I'll wait for you at the back._

His phone buzzed again with Damon's answer.

_Be right there._

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><p>Elena and Ric searched all over the club to find Damon, but he was gone. There was no trace of him. He just disappeared, and so did Enzo.<p>

"They gave us the slip," Ric said angrily.

"No...NO!" Elena exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Elena...they gone," Ric told her.

"No, they can't be!" Elena refused to believe it.

Ric turned to her, gently grabbing her face. "We'll find him, alright?" he reassured her. "We found him once...we'll find him again. And we'll do whatever we have to do to break whatever spell he's on. I give you my word. We'll fix him," he swore to her.

Elena nodded, as she leaned closer to him for support.

* * *

><p>Damon impatiently tapped his foot on the dashboard, as he stared at Enzo from the passenger side of the car. "My dear sainted grandmother drove faster than you. And all she had was a horse and buggy," he teased the other vampire.<p>

Enzo glared at him. "I'm not your chauffeur," he reminded Damon. "You want fast? Get your own bloody car. No wonder you died slamming your car into a building."

"I MEANT to do that," Damon pointed out. "Go out in a blaze of glory, and what-not. Besides...Stefan still has my Camaro. That was my baby. Who knew that rebuilding my car would be an enlightening experience for him?"

"Was this before or after he decided to give up ever raising you back from the dead?" Enzo said with a chuckle.

"Just shut up and drive," Damon ordered him.

Enzo did as he was told. They drove in silence for a while, until his thoughts went back to Alaric and Elena. "That was an Oscar-worthy performance back there, by the way. If I didn't know the truth, I would've believed that you REALLY didn't recognize them...especially Elena."

"Oh, well...I figured one good turn deserved another," Damon replied. "Nice of you to back me up. If you were Pinocchio, your nose would've grown into a tree, with all those lies you've spewed," he said with a laugh.

"We have each others' backs...that was the deal, right?" Enzo reminded him.

"Us against them, my friend," Damon responded.

"You know that those two back there will just keep on trying to find us, right?" he told Damon. "They don't seem the type to give up easily."

"We are talking about the same woman who had my so-called best friend compel her to wipe me from her memory, right?" Damon scoffed at him.

Enzo nodded and smirked. "Right, right...I keep forgetting that part. Either way, she seems pretty determined to keep you this time around. What should we do about that?"

"No worries. One step ahead of you," Damon told his friend. He took his phone out, and dialed a number. His call was answered after a few rings. "Lucy...it's Damon. I need a cloaking spell. I just need to throw a few people off our trail. Uh-huh. Yes. Thank you. Buh-bye now." he said before he hung up.

"She likes you. She plays nice when you talk to her," Enzo pointed out.

"I'm a means to an end," Damon told him. "She can't get Bonnie back without my help. And Bonnie just became the most important witch on the Bennett bloodline, so if Lucy wants my help getting her back, she's gonna have to dance when I want her to."

"I wonder if she knows that we want Bonnie back just as badly as she does?" Enzo asked.

"I doubt it," Damon shook his head. He turned to meet Enzo's eyes. "And what Lucy Bennett doesn't know...won't hurt us."

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><p><strong>~END OF CHAPTER TWO~<strong>

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><p>Be kind...REVIEW! Thank you for reading!<p> 


	3. Boy With The Thorn In His Side

**A/N** : To tell you all the truth, I wasn't sure that I was going to continue this fic. But a lot of you have been asking for an update. And I've been too frustrated at the recent developments on TVD this season, I can't even write romantic Delena. So here we go...

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><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE – Boy With The Thorn In His Side<strong>

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><p>Stefan walked inside the only bar in the most secluded part of Salem, Illinois, called Pub 13. He let his eyes roam around the establishment. Music was loudly blaring from the jukebox.<p>

"_The boy with the thorn in his side,  
>Behind the hatred there lies,<br>A murderous desire for love..."_

The place was almost empty, except for two people playing pool, and receptionist who's hand was now placed firmly on his chest.

"We're closed," the receptionist informed him, her eyes blank.

Stefan checked his watch. It wasn't even 9 o'clock in the evening. He looked behind them, and pointed at the two men playing pool. "They're inside," he said to her.

"We're closed," the woman repeated in a monotone voice.

Stefan looked at the receptionist's name tag. "Listen...Karen," he said in a hushed tone. "I need to go inside."

"We're closed," Karen told him again.

"Karen!" a voice called in his familiar British accent. "It's alright, Doll. You may let him in."

Karen stepped out of Stefan's way and began to walk back to her podium, when Stefan grabbed her arm and made her look into his eyes.

"Go home. You'll remember none of this when you wake up tomorrow," Stefan compelled her. The woman nodded her head, repeated what he said, and then turned towards the door and left to pub.

"Enzo," Stefan nodded his head towards the vampire.

"Little Salvatore," Enzo greeted in return.

Stefan turned his attention to the other vampire inside the pub. The man currently angling a shot with his cue on the pool table. "Brother..." he whispered, before he tried to approach him.

Damon merely ignored him, as he continued with his shot. Enzo's hand blocked Stefan, stopping him from getting near Damon. "Queue starts behind me, Mate," Enzo said with an annoying grin. "We're in the middle of a game. You need to wait your turn."

Stefan stared at the hand that Enzo placed on his chest, and then glared at Damon's friend. He gave him a smirk, and then, without warning, grabbed both sides of his head and snapped his neck. Enzo's body crumpled unconsciously to the floor.

Damon briefly met his brother's eyes, before going back to his pool game. "That was rude."

"He deserved it," Stefan replied, staying frozen in place, not wanting to alarm Damon.

"I doubt that," Damon said, giving his trademark smirk. "After all, he was the only one who succeeded in finding a way to bring back someone you gave up on so easily." He stood up straight to face Stefan. "Well? Let's get on with this, shall we? Bring the others out...let's have a party."

"I don't kno-" Stefan to to answer.

"Oh, come on, Brother," Damon interrupted him. "Don't insult my intelligence by lying to me," he scoffed. "We both know you can't take me all by yourself. You can come out now, Alaric."

Alaric stepped out of the shadows and walked towards the Salvatore brothers, giving Damon a nod as a greeting.

Damon merely shook his head and took a sip of his bourbon. "That just leaves us with the one who manipulated you into coming here," he retorted. "Enter Elena."

Elena stepped out from behind Ric, and nervously approached Damon, who held out his hand abruptly to halt her.

"Don't even..." Damon warned her. He shook his head. "I must say, the Blunder twins are getting real good at this," he growled. "Next time you see them, tell them I said that any time I have the opportunity in the future to screw them over, count on getting screwed," he said in a menacing tone.

"Damon," Elena whispered his name.

Damon ignored her, and turned his attention back to Stefan. "So...how is the best goddamn mechanic of Savannah? I appreciate all the work you did fixing the Camaro, but you can't keep her. She's mine...you can't have her." he told Stefan.

"Come home with us, and she's yours," Stefan replied.

"This isn't a negotiation, Brother," Damon warned him. "I want my Baby back. And I will have her."

Stefan took the keys out of his pocket and waved them in front of Damon's face, before snatching them back, and returning them to his pocket. "Like I said...you can have her when you come home with us."

"You're coming home too?" Damon gasped with feigned shock. "You done being Dean's bitch yet?" he asked mockingly. "Speaking of bitch...you still shacking up with that hot wildcat-"

"Leave Ivy out of this!" Stefan snapped.

Damon hold his hand up in mock surrender. He shifted his gaze to Elena, and then back to Stefan. "She doesn't know," he deduced. "Oops...my bad. Sorry, Elena. Looks like you are shit out of luck. Little brother's moved on from you."

"Good for him. He's allowed to be happy. We all are. I thought we've made peace with this," Elena pleaded to Damon with her eyes.

"Oh, that's right...you still have that boy toy! That bastard you met from the hospital," Damon recalled. "Let's face it, Elena. Fake bad boy-wannabe is NOT going to do it from you. You won't be satisfied unless you have a Salvatore in both arms...both wrapped around your fingers," he chuckled derisively. "Oh, well...have fun slumming it!"

Elena shook her head in frustration, her nails biting her palms as she clenched her fists. "No, Damon...listen to me! What I had with Liam...it was never real!" She squeezed her eye shut, and the tears started to fall. "You died..."

"Yes, I did," Damon nodded. "And you honored my memory by placing everything that reminded you of me inside a box, and them putting them away. And if that wasn't enough, you had my 'best friend' compel you you to erase your so-called love from your mind," he said in an angry whisper.

"You weren't there!" Elena yelled, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I was drowning in pain, Damon. I couldn't spend all of eternity like that!"

"So you say," Damon scoffed.

"Are you seriously telling me that if the situation was reversed, that you wouldn't have done the same thing?" Elena asked him.

Damon stepped closer to her until they were toe to to, staring deeply into her eyes. "No, I wouldn't," he replied, without breaking his gaze. "I'll tell you what I would have done though. I would have scoured the earth to find a way to bring you back," he told her, his voice quivering with anger. "Because I never give up. Not on you. I always fight. I always choose you," he reminded her.

Elena tried and failed to contain a sob. "Then don't give up on us now!" she begged. "Fight for us. Please, Damon...choose to forgive me!" She let out another sob, and placed her hands to cup his face. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry!"

Damon gently shoved her hands away. "Problem is...I don't believe you," he said, shaking his head. "And I'm tired, Elena. I can't keep fighting for us, when I'm the only one doing the fighting."

"Damon, please..." Elena pleaded, starting to sob hysterically.

Damon huffed softly. "If it had happened to him," he said, tilting his head over to Stefan. "...you wouldn't have second thoughts of finding a way to bring him back. You wouldn't have accepted his death so easily. You wouldn't have just give up on him."

Elena tried to approach closer to him one more time. "I love you, Damon," her declaration filled with such honest emotions.

"Bullshit," Damon spat, glowering menacingly at her. "You don't know what it means to love."

"That's enough, Damon!" Alaric warned him, while Stefan pulled Elena safely into her arms. She tried to struggle, but Stefan wouldn't let her go.

Damon glared at his brother and Elena, before he turned his attention back to Alaric. "Oh...he speaks," he said to him mockingly. "How have you been, Brutus...I mean, Buddy?"

"I didn't betray you," Ric denied vehemently.

"Of course, you didn't," Damon scoffed. "Everything you did was because of your honest intentions," he continued, staring at Ric in the eye. "The honest and honorable teacher and guardian...the one everyone look ups to," he retorted. "How's Merideth 2.0? You should go back and be with her. You never know...she might find a hot pediatrician, get married and move to Alaska, while you're out here wasting you time on me. Find yourself a new drinking buddy. We're all replaceable to you anyway, right?"

Alaric sighed loudly, shaking his head. "Damon, listen to me-"

"What? You think you can compel me like you did Elena?" Damon asked incredulously. "Your tricks won't work on me, Ric."

"No tricks, Damon," Ric denied. "I just want you to understand that I did what I had to do to make Elena's pain stop."

"And you did a damn good job" Damon told him. "BRA-fucking-VO, Buddy!" he added, as he did a mock slow clap. Without warning, he took his pool cue, and stabbed him in the gut. "Please accept my sincerest gratitude, pal..." he whispered in his ear, before Ric fell to the floor clutching his stomach.

"Damon!" Elena screamed. "Stop this!"

Damn ignored her, and bent over to get look into Ric's eyes. "Go home, Ric. Be a father-figure to Scrappy Doo, the Quarterback, and the little Hunter that could. I'm not in the mood to be saved." He turned to walk away.

"That's it?" Stefan's voice stopped him. "You're just going to walk away? You won't even listen to our side of the story?" he asked, as he helped pull the cue out of Ric's gut.

"I know what I need to know," Damon replied.

"You obviously know a lot, Damon..." Stefan scoffed. "How is that even possible?"

"Funny you should ask that, Stef..." Damon replied. "There's this blonde vampire who goes to Bonnie's memorial every damn day. And every damn day, she feels the need to relay the daily happenings in all of your lives," he informed them.

"Caroline..." Stefan muttered under his breath.

"Yep," Damon confirmed. "Yet another person disappointed by you." He made another attempt to walk away.

"And what about Bonnie?" Elena asked, trying to stall him. "What happened to Bonnie? Is she here?

"Do you see her anywhere in here?" Damon asked her. Elena shook her head no. "Then she must not be here!"

"Damon..." Elena tied to get him to talk some more.

Damon was in front of her in a flash. "Go home, Little Girl. There's nothing for you here."

All of a sudden, Damon felt himself being slammed up against the wall. "You leave me no choice, Buddy," Ric growl, as he tried to stick him with a vervain dart.

Then without warning, Ric, Stefan and Elena collectively screamed in pain. All three of them fell to the floor, clutching their heads, Damon the only one left standing. Another person stepped out from the shadows...a woman with long, dark hair and mocha-colored skin. Stefan recognized her from the Masquerade...a former friend of Katherine's.

"Lucy..."Stefan muttered her name under his breath.

"Good to see you again, Stefan," Lucy said, before amping up her power, making sue that no one got up from the ground. "I wish it was under different circumstances."

Damon fix his appearance, before standing beside Lucy. "Nice work."

"Let's just get out of here," Lucy told him.

Damon held up his index finger. "Just one more thing..." he said to her. He leaned over Stefan and reached into his pocket, taking his car keys. "I'm just getting back what's rightfully mine, Brother," he goaded Stefan with a smirk.

Damon walked towards his still-unconscious comrade. He bent over, lifted up Enzo's body, and slung him over his shoulders. He then turned to Lucy and nodded. "NOW, we can get out of here," he told her. Together, they all walked out the pub, leaving Ric, Stefan and Elena inside, almost unconscious and in a lot of pain.

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><p>Once they were out of the pub and reached the parking lot, Damon immediately looked around for his car. He didn't have to look very far to see where it was located. He noticed his 1969 Camaro convertible parked nearby.<p>

"Hello, Baby..." Damon greeted his car with a smile. He turned to Lucy and asked. "You know one of the things I love most about this car?" Lucy shook her head. "She has a huge trunk space," he said to her, before opening the trunk, and shoving Enzo's body inside. Once he was done with that, he opened the passenger door for Lucy. "Get in," he ordered. Lucy nodded and obeyed without protest. Damon got in the driver's seat, and drove away.

They drove in silence for a while, Damon in deep thought. Finally, he sighed and turned to Lucy. "I thought you said you did a cloaking spell on us, to counter their locator spell? How is it that they still found us?" he growled.

"I didn't count on them using Stefan's blood to track you down," Lucy answered. "You two being blood brothers makes a more powerful tracking spell."

"Well...FIX IT!" Damon ordered her.

"I am!" Lucy snapped back. "Keep driving. I'm using a more powerful shrouding spell to cover our tacks," she told him, before she closed her eyes and started chanting.

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><p>Damon drove for hours, until they reached a town called Pontiac. He found the nearest bed and breakfast in town, The Three Roses. He compelled the owner to give them three rooms. He took Enzo's body out of the trunk, and carried him into his room. Once the other vampire was all settled in bed, Damon turned to Lucy.<p>

"Did you get everything we'll need back in Salem?" he asked her.

"Yes," Lucy replied, as she took out a black pouch from her purse. "It's all right here.

"Good," Damon said. "Go get some rest," he told the witch. "We'll be out of here at first light." Lucy nodded in understanding, before turning away from him and entering her room.

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><p>Damon waited a few minutes, then retired to his room and locked the door. Inside, he went to the bathroom to wash his face before he went to bed. He stared int o the mirror, only the reflection wasn't his.<p>

It had been months since it first happened, and he had grown accustomed to seeing her face, instead of his own reflection, whenever he looks at himself in the mirror. It used to freak him out, but not anymore.

"That wasn't nice," she chastised him.

"I'm not nice," Damon reminded her.

"Seriously, Damon...that was way too harsh," she scolded him.

"Yeah, that's just the kind of guy I am...I'm harsh," Damon pointed out. "And if you don't like it, then you can just find another host body for you to possess. Oh, no wait...you CAN'T! So why don't you just spare me the lectures?" he scowled at her.

"But, Damon-" she protested.

"But, Damon...nothing!" Damon interrupted her. "I don't wanna hear it."

"You didn't have to push them away!" she yelled at him. "You didn't have to hurt them!"

"I'm doing all this to _save your ass...when _what I really want to do is drop you on it!" Damon snapped at her.

"Damon-" she tried to argue.

"Shut up, BONNIE!"

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><p><strong>~END OF CHAPTER THREE~<strong>

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><p><strong>AN** :

*Whaaat? Bonnie's inside Damon's body? Talk about a bonding experience!

*The song playing in the jukebox inside the pub is called "Boy With The Thorn In His Side" by British alternative rock band, The Smiths.

*Any publicly recognizable people or locale do NOT belong to me.

*Be kind...REVIEW! Many thanks to all my readers.


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